June 2012 - American Association for Clinical Chemistry

Meet the 2012 Annual Meeting Chair
a team of hardworking aaCC
members plan the annual
meeting program over the
course of many months. this
year’s organizing committee is
chaired by paolo fortina, Md,
phd. originally from turin, italy,
dr. fortina has spent the last 20
years in philadelphia, pa. He is
currently professor of medical
oncology and cancer biology
at thomas Jefferson university
Medical College where his laboratory
conducts cutting-edge research in genomics and genetics
with the ultimate goal identifying novel diagnostic tools.
with more than 130 publications, dr. fortina is considered one
of the world’s experts on genomics-based diagnostics. using his
expertise, he put together an innovative chair’s invited session entitled,
“trends in diagnostics technology,” which will take place on
wednesday, July 18th. this full-day session will present an overview
of novel technologies that span the continuum of clinical
testing, starting with new methods for blood collection, nucleic
acid extraction, microchip devices, and gene signature and digital
rna analysis in clinical settings.
in this interview, dr. fortina shares his enthusiasm for the 2012
aaCC annual Meeting program.
What do you want people to know
about the 2012 Annual Meeting?
We have a very exciting program with
many experts in the fields of genetics,
cardiology, pediatrics, and bioinformatics.
The organizing committee has
carefully selected topics and presentations
that cover both the most advanced
research and the latest findings.
Importantly, we have asked speakers to
focus on how laboratory professionals
will actually apply the results of this research
to their routine work in laboratories
and clinics.
What’s the best part of being the
chair of the 2012 Annual Meeting?
I think that being able to work with the
organizing committee to identify the
invited speakers, especially the presentations
selected from the many proposals
submitted to the meeting, has been the
best part of chairing the meeting. It also
is gratifying to know that all the work we
do will have important repercussions
on how laboratorians will perform their
work in clinical laboratories, not only
here in the U.S., but everywhere in the
world. People will come to this meeting
and share their work and research and
learn from each other. They will then
take this new knowledge back to their
home laboratories and improve the
scope and quality of laboratory services.
What are the hot topics
at the meeting?
I would definitely single out highthroughput
sequencing and personalized
medicine, applications of mass
spectrometry in clinical settings, bioinformatics,
biobanking, laboratory
management, and the current status of
healthcare reform
What advice do you have for someone
who has never attended an
AACC Annual Meeting?
Plan in advance! This is a large meeting
with many parallel sessions. Attendees
need to look carefully at the program
in order to optimize attendance at the
sessions that most correspond to their
interests. I encourage everyone to use
our online planning tool, AACC Pathfinder,
to keep track of their schedule.
This mobile app will automatically put
you in the sessions you have registered
for, as well as allow you to make appointments
and connect to exhibitors.
If an individual only has only one
day to spend at the meeting, what
would you recommend?
That’s pretty hard! I am especially
looking forward to the opening plenary
on Sunday night by Dr. Eric
Green, who will talk about the era of
Genomic Medicine. But then my per-
sonal interests are molecular biology
and genetics. I don’t think anyone will
be disappointed in any day that they
pick to come. I strongly encourage you
to spend as much time as you can because
this meeting and exposition has
so much to offer for everyone involved
in laboratory medicine. CLN
sYcl invites you to its 2012 aacc
annual meeting Workshop
The Evolving Clinical Laboratory Landscape:
Key Elements
as a current or future laboratory director, are you able to traverse rapid
changes in laboratory testing and understand how the transformations
of healthcare affects you? this workshop, presented by aaCC’s society for
Young Clinical laboratorians (sYCl), is geared toward younger members of
aaCC and will offer valuable insights and information from experts in various
areas of laboratory medicine.
bill Clarke, phd, Johns Hopkins, will help you navigate through uncharted
waters in his presentation, laboratory developed tests (ldts): what’s
all the fuss about? dr. Clarke will define ldts and how they are regulated,
discuss their importance, as well as identify ongoing challenges for laboratories
that perform them.
elaine Jeter, phd, palmetto gba, and Michael astion, Md, phd, seattle
Children’s Hospital, will help you cultivate the fertile earth and understand
how to protect your laboratory’s bottom line while optimizing patient care.
dr. Jeter will provide her insight on understanding lab payments in her
presentation, Molecular diagnostics Coding, Coverage and reimbursement:
a new paradigm, and dr. astion will focus on appropriate lab test utilization
in his talk on getting the waste out. this session of the workshop will
describe linking unique codes to rendered services, understanding valuebased
pricing, and the unnecessary bundling of laboratory tests. You will
also gain insight into how third-party payers and the government are working
to improve the use of the clinical laboratory through reimbursement.
allan Jaffe, Md, Mayo Clinic, and James faix, Md, stanford university
will help you harness the changing winds of lab testing. they will use a tag
team approach to deliver, life Cycle of lab tests: Creation to obsolescence.
this part of the workshop will cover ways new markers come into use,
strategies to eliminate outdated tests and to replace them with proven,
cutting-edge assays, as well as how to assess effectiveness of new tests in
your laboratory.
don’t miss your opportunity to join us for the 2012 sYCl workshop and
invest in the future landscape of the clinical laboratory. the workshop will
culminate with a sYCl workshop mixer. Come and mingle with fellow current
and past sYCl members and try your hand at aaCC trivia!
registration is open to all sYCl members, but space is limited! sign up
for the workshop when you register for the aaCC annual Meeting. the
registration fee is only $30!
saturday, july 14th
jW marriott hotel los angeles
Workshop 1:00–5:15 p.m.
Platinum ballroom salon c
mixer 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Platinum ballroom salons a&b
Help us Plan Next Year’s Workshop
the 2013 sYCl workshop Committee is interested in your ideas! planning
for the 2013 sYCl workshop is underway and we want to know
which topics interest you. Contact the committee chair,
Mark Cervinski, phd, at mark.a.cervinski@hitchcock.org with your ideas.
CliniCal laboratory news June 2012 15